Annual Trick-or-Eat event registration is open

By Julieanne Acosta, October 24 2023—

Since 2009, every year, students have worked to address food insecurity on campus by participating in the annual Trick-or-Eat event, organized by the Centre for Career and Personal Development (CCPD) office and collecting food donations for the Students’ Union (SU) Food Bank. 

In an interview with the Gauntlet, organizers of the event, Rachel Gagne and Megan Lewis talked more about the importance of Trick-or-Eat. 

“Essentially, Trick-or-Eat is a food drive that is going to be collecting donations for the SU food bank. So it’s going to be just designated to student food access,” said Lewis. 

Students are encouraged to register to participate as a group to help collect donations on Oct. 30 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. They will go door-to-door in communities surrounding the university to collect donations that will go directly to students facing food insecurity.

“Students or volunteers who wish to sign up are going to go out into the community and collect non-perishable food donations from residents. There are many other ways to get involved such as flyering, or donation sorting,” said Lewis. “And then we also host an on-campus donation collection throughout the month as well.” 

In past years, students have shown their ability to rally together and give donations to the SU Food Bank. 

“In 2010, we collected 6300 pounds of food, and then in 2011, we collected $5,000 in monetary donations, so definitely a history of really significant donations,” said Gagne. 

Since July, requests at the SU Food Bank have been up by 49 per cent. Along with the recent housing crisis and increases in the cost of living, events such as Trick-or-Eat are important to help support the food bank.

Acceptable donations include dry food options such as instant oatmeal or boxed pasta, canned goods, canned proteins such as chickpeas or beans, and personal care items such as menstrual hygiene products or toilet paper. Monetary donations are also accepted through the SU Food Bank website. 

To learn more about Trick or Eat or to register to participate, visit their website.